Kristin Cookehttps://kristincooke.wordpress.com
crafty, running mother of 2Wed, 07 Mar 2018 02:43:31 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngKristin Cookehttps://kristincooke.wordpress.com
Reindeer Romp 5k 2017https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/06/reindeer-romp-5k-2017/
https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/06/reindeer-romp-5k-2017/#commentsWed, 07 Mar 2018 01:00:47 +0000http://kristincooke.wordpress.com/?p=7212Continue reading →]]>I signed up for this one last minute. To be honest, being the week after my full marathon, I probably would have skipped this. My daughter had been talking for months about running the kids race again, though. I didn’t feel right bringing her for the free kids race without running the 5k myself. Carl and Eric were both registered. I knew Eric’s daughter normally ran the kids race, too. A few days before the race, my husband decided not to go fishing so he could come with and watch the kids. I’m glad he did. Carl graciously picked up my bib the Friday before since I forgot. Once we got to the parking lot, I met up with him to get it. Then I proceeded to the table to get my hoodie. That is one of the best things about this race. Instead of a t-shirt, you get a nice, thick hoodie. This year it was green. I went back to the car with the hoodie and to let my family know Carl was there with his youngest son. His older son who is friends with my son decided to stay at home. We all went back over to the gathering area. Soon after, Eric and his family arrived. My kids began playing with Carl’s son. I had my husband get a before picture with my kids.

Then Carl, Eric, and I headed for the staging area. They did some warm ups and announcements. Then they sang the National anthem.

The start was once again out on the street. We stayed towards the back. I planned to walk the entire race since my toe was still sore from the marathon. I believe I still had it wrapped in a bandaid to keep it on at this point. So, we hung out towards the back.

We kind of missed the official start from back there. We did notice people starting to move, though. The race starts to the left on the road ahead. It winds through neighborhoods. First we turned right onto Chenoworth.

Then it was a right onto Rhodes.

I think we turned left onto Sulkirk and I almost missed taking a picture of the sign.

Next was a right onto Long Meadow.

Here’s where we found the Mile 1 marker.

We did encounter a few people out spectating. That is a big change from last year where it was so cold that my iPhone died mid-race.

We turned right on Stokes.

In this area was the water stop.

The next turn was onto this road.

We turned left onto Sulkirk again.

Then right on Severn.

I had to stop briefly to get a good picture of the Mile 2 marker.

At this point I was still feeling good. So I jogged to catch up to the guys. That proved why I was walking the whole thing. I don’t think I could have jogged anymore unless I absolutely had to.

We turned left onto Tyndale.

Then left onto the next street that had a dip.

We turned right on Brookfield.

Then we turned right for the last road part of the course onto Sharon. If you’re not local, Sharon is a pretty main road. Luckily it isn’t heavily traveled this early on the weekend.

We turned right into the parking lot of the Harris YMCA. We continued to this area. Yes, those are people that have already finished and are leaving.

There were lot of people lined up and cheering at the finish. I found out after the fact that the reason was the kids race had already started and some even finished with us.

I got a bottle of water and the medal meant to hang on the Christmas tree. Then I took my post-race selfie.

My kids finished their race shortly after this picture. They were almost right behind one another. They both had a great time and will likely want to do this again next year. They did give the kids the extra medals from last year. So, their medals said 2016 instead of 2017 on them. I know it’s because there were still people out on the 5k course and they didn’t want to run out of medals. My kids didn’t care as long as they got a medal.

Overall, this is a very well run race. The hoodies make it worth running without anything else. On top of that, they always have s’mores and coffee/cocoa in the gathering area. They also have bananas and a few other normal race things. The course is pretty flat and easily walk-able. Assuming the weather cooperates, this is a great first timer course. My sons says he wants to do the 5k with me next year.

]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/06/reindeer-romp-5k-2017/feed/1kristincookeSpace Coast 2017 (full)https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/04/space-coast-2017-full/
https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/04/space-coast-2017-full/#respondSun, 04 Mar 2018 13:00:41 +0000http://kristincooke.wordpress.com/?p=7210Continue reading →]]>To be completely honest, I was glad this was the 5th and last year of the medal series. The Thanksgiving weekend road trip was taking a lot out of me. My husband had a fishing tournament the day Nicki and I left. So, I decorated with my kids until the babysitter arrived. We did a pretty good job in half a day.

After the babysitter and Nicki arrived, we packed up my car and hit the road. I think we were on the road just before 1 PM. We hit a drive thru for lunch and didn’t stop again until a rest area. I took a picture of the map at the rest area.

I think we stopped for gas around the GA border. We made it to Port Canaveral and our hotel (Radisson Resort at the Port) around 8:30 PM. We made great time on the way down. This year, we were in a regular room.

The bathtub was important for us this year. I didn’t mind the double beds since it was just two of us. It did make me rethink my pre-cruise hotel for my family’s cruise in July, though. My family needs at least 2 queens. The room was good and the fridge was nice to have. The hall is loud since it is uneven in texture and most people have rolling bags now. If you’re a light sleeper, that could present a problem.

Since I hadn’t seen Thor: Ragnarok yet, Nicki and I decided to catch a late show and have popcorn for dinner. We got seats ahead of time and made our way to the theater. It wasn’t too far from our hotel. When we got there, we were confused because it must be in the midst of an ownership change. We went inside and got popcorn and drinks. They didn’t even check our tickets before we got to the theater. We briefly contemplated cancelling the tickets but I’m too much of a rule follower for that. The movie started at 9:30 PM. I enjoyed it and was glad to have the opportunity. Nicki had already seen it once. We made our way back to the hotel and dropped into bed.

The next morning was the Expo. Nicki had signed up to work at the SparkleSkirts booth since I would be visiting my family. She left just before opening. That’s the beauty of staying in the host hotel… walk to the Expo. I waited until just after the official opening time and then made my way down.

You are first directed down a hallway with the bib pickup. This did get congested.

At the end of the hallway, you enter the Expo area. Since everyone wait for their bags and shirts first, there was normally a line to enter.

This was what it looked like from the entrance.

The clear bag check bags were immediately on the left and the back wall was the shirt pick up area.

This is a look at the Expo space from the shirt area.

SparkleSkirts was right by the exit. I had to get a picture of Nicki working.

I ran into Vanessa here. Vanessa, Nicki, and I chatted for a few minutes. Then I went over to the medal hanger booth. I picked up the special design for the series. I wanted something nice to display all 7 medals. I went back and said goodbye to Nicki. As I was leaving, I got someone to take my picture with the series banner pointing to my name.

I also took a selfie with the space suit.

I decided to check out the next medal series which is for 4 years. I had already decided I was not doing it.

I must admit the medals are nice and if I lived closer I might consider it. It would be a no-brainer if I lived in the Orlando area where my family reside. To give some context of just how big these medals are, I took a picture with my hand.

Then I went back to my room to leave all the Expo things. While I was there, my dear husband told me to pick something up as a Christmas present. I sent him a picture of the medal hanger. Then I grabbed the fruitcakes I had made for my Granny and headed to Longwood. We had a nice lunch at the Olive Garden to celebrate my Granny’s 90th birthday. Being an FSU alum, I was watching the beginning of the Gator game on my phone at the restaurant (as was my dad). I stayed at my Granny’s to watch the end and then headed back to the hotel. While I was gone, Nicki finished making my shirt. It turned out really good.

Then, Nicki and I decided to go to the restaurant next door for our pre-race dinner.

I got the baked ziti.

This place is always full of people leaving on a cruise the next morning. The food is good and the location was ideal for us. After we finished, we went back to the room and tried to get to sleep.

We woke up bright and early the next morning to catch the first round of buses. To be honest, since we were running the marathon we probably could have caught a later bus. I just have anxiety on race day until I’m at the start area. We walked to the front lobby and joined many of our fellow racers. We waited until right at the first bus time. Then, several buses showed up to the lobby. We ended up on the third bus because we hung out at the back of the crowd. They were all full with the people waiting and left within minutes of each other. There were still a couple waiting when we left. The ride is a decent amount of time and then there is a backup waiting to drop off. We still arrived well ahead of any starting times. We hung out in the area by the flag where all the group pictures happen. Then it was time for the half marathon runners to line up. We took that opportunity to hit the bathroom. Nicki waited for the real bathroom while I headed over to the port-o-potties. I had almost waited too long already. The port-o-potty area is so dark, it almost pays to have a flashlight or use your phone. After finishing, I headed back over to Nicki’s line. She was already inside. When she emerged, we headed over towards the start area. She took a good pre-race picture of me with the spacesuit.

By the time we got to the start area, the half marathoners were already gone. We hung out until the announcement that we could go assemble. The full start is 30 min after the half. We hung out towards the back and found the pacers. The area was way less congested than the half start.

Looking at the intervals online earlier, we wanted to stay with the 6:15 pacer through the first half. The thought was we would drop back and stay with the 6:30 pacer during the second half. They handle the start about the same for both. So, they made some announcements and then sang the National Anthem. The official start is a countdown to blast off on the screen with smoke shooting out at the launch. This was the smoke from the back.

After running through the start, we entered a residential area that was all decked out.

Then we took a turn.

Then a left onto Brevard.

Brevard does a veer to the left and becomes Indian River Drive.

There was a really pretty sunrise along this stretch.

We reached Mile 1.

By this point, Nicki had already dropped back. She was not going to be able to keep up with the pacer. I stayed with Kristen and told her I’d meet her at the end.

Soon we found the first water stop and port-o-potties.

Before I knew it, we got to Mile 2.

Soon there was another water stop.

Then Mile 3.

This water stop was in a more residential area.

You’ll notice the Mile 10 marker on the other side. This is an out and back, out and back course. The lead runner of the marathon passed on the other side in this stretch.

Shortly thereafter, we got to Mile 4.

Next was a medical tent and water stop.

Soon came Mile 5.

I think it is in this area we saw the dolphins by the docks. Our pacer got really excited. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

The next water stop was across from a church and themed like Area 51.

Mile 6

Another water stop and a few spectators

The 10k split speed bump

We made it to the north side U-turn.

At this point, I was feeling really good and loving the pacer. We passed Nicki shortly before Mile 7.

Then came the port-o-potties and water stop.

Mile 8

We were back at the Area 51 water stop

Mile 9

I missed it the first time by, but the next water stop has everyone in suits. I’m assuming they were MIB.

We made it to the beginning of the City of Cocoa

There was a water stop at Mile 10.

The Grinch was out cheering.

Mile 11

Another water stop

Mile 12

Water stop

We crossed Willard St

Mile 13 was just after the crossing

We hit the halfway point about where the start had been.

At this point, I really had to pee. So I veered off to the left and hit these port-o-potties.

Then I got water at the water stop. At this point, we are on the same route as the half. There were a lot of people on this stretch because many of the half runners are done.

We turned right where the finish was straight.

These firefighters inspired me. They were at the end of their half.

This shark made me stop thinking about how I was trying to catch up to the pace group.

Mile 14 was just after the shark.

These people had an unofficial water stop.

I caught up to the pace group.

Mile 15 with the pace group

A boy scout manned water stop

Mile 16 still with the group

Water stop and port-o-potties in a curve

Mile 17 was right after the water stop

These people had adult beverage offerings

Official water stop

This group had a full breakfast offering

Mile 18

I want to say this was some M&Ms and pretzels, but I can’t remember

More firefighters on the other side. I assume they were doing the half.

Mile 19

I loved this sign

We got to the water stop manned by the Parrotheads. We turned left just beyond this.

Then came the south side U-turn

The parrotheads started before the right turn.

They continued around the corner with goodies.

I got a Midnight Milky Way.

Mile 20

We got back to the Boy scout water stop

Mile 21 and I’m still in the vicinity of the pacer.

Back to the breakfast buffet area

Official water stop

This is where I dropped back from the pacer

Mile 22

Medical, water, and Mile 23

Stop that I think had GUs.

Mile 24

Water stop and port-o-potties

Mile 25

So happy to see this sign

We entered the city of Cocoa

Another welcome sign

Mile 26 (although you can’t see it) We turned right at the yellow flag.

Loving these signs

I started by run to the finish right after this sign

Finally, the finish!

The last few miles was getting hard. I was walking a lot. I met up with this guy who was also having issues. We encouraged each other through the end.

After getting my medals, water, towel, and wet towel, I grabbed some pizza and Coke. I finished these quickly and found the finisher picture for the 5 year challenge. Luckily, they had the medals for the picture. I did not carry these with me.

I made my way to the bus thinking Nicki might not finish in time. I wanted to make sure I would be able to drive back and get her if necessary. The bus ride back to the hotel was uneventful. Once back in the room, I had no desire to do anything else. I got word that Nicki had indeed finished in time and was on a bus. So, I got into the bathtub with some oil for sore muscles. While bathing, Nick got back. Once I was done, Nicki showered. Then we both lay around in our beds. The original plan was to head over to the Kennedy Space Center for some pictures with all 5 years worth of medals. We both agreed that not only did we not want to do that, we didn’t want to move. We rested in the room until we both got hungry for dinner. Since we hadn’t visited yet this trip, our celebratory dinner was at our favorite, Crackers. It’s a small, quiet place that does have on the games.

I got the coconut shrimp and fries.

For dessert, I got their buttermilk pie. It reminds me a lot of my mother-in-law’s egg custard.

Even though I had used body glide, I ended up with some major chafing on one side of my bra line in the front.

We decided when we got back from dinner, that we didn’t want to walk anywhere, not even to the pool or hot tub. So, we proceeded to turn in for the night.

The next morning, we packed everything up and headed out. It was nice to have an extra night and be driving on the Monday after Thanksgiving instead of Sunday evening. We still wanted some good medal pictures. I looked up a park not too far from us that we decided to try. We got there in a short time and found a place to park. Because of the recent hurricane, the beach area was fenced off. It was just as well since we couldn’t see the space center well enough for a picture. Luckily, part of this area was a dedication to the space program. So, we parked by the main entrance.

Then proceeded to take several medal pictures.

After finishing the pictures, we grabbed something to eat from the Burger King next door. Then we got on the road. The drive home was so much easier than previous years. We made it home in almost less than 8 hours.

To sum up, Space Coast is a great full marathon. I know they are changing the way things work next year so this might change. The course is really flat. Having 2 out and back sections was nice to me. It was hard running by the finish at the halfway point, though. Personally, I am done with this race for a while. It’s hard to travel right after Thanksgiving and leave my family. The next 4 year series of medals look awesome. Good luck to all those pursuing them. My official time was 6:40:03. That is a personal best by almost 5 minutes. I’m confident that I could stay with the 6:15 pacer next time if I trained like before and didn’t try too hard to catch up after a potty stop. I really think that’s what got to me.

]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/04/space-coast-2017-full/feed/0kristincookeMyrtle Beach Mini 2017https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/02/myrtle-beach-mini-2017/
https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/02/myrtle-beach-mini-2017/#respondSat, 03 Mar 2018 00:00:14 +0000http://kristincooke.wordpress.com/?p=7213Continue reading →]]>Originally, I had a Tough Mudder scheduled for the morning before, but then my son had a game that I did not want to miss. As such, I could not make it to the Expo for pick up. Luckily, Nicki went down early in the day and was able to get my stuff for me. I drove down once my son’s game was finished. I met Nicki at the hotel. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn Myrtle Beach Broadway at the Beach this time. We wanted to be close to the start area. Nicki gave me my bib and other goodies. Then we went out to meet her friend for dinner. I got cheese sticks and penne with vodka sauce.

The food was good and it was more of a local place. I really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we made a stop at the store in the same shopping strip for some last minute items. Then we went back to the hotel to get some rest.

The next morning we got up bright and early. We got ready and headed down to breakfast. Nicki talked to a lady at check in to get up a later check out. We wanted to be able to come back to the room after the race. The hotel had a decent breakfast and I was able to have a banana and Nicki got her bagel with peanut butter. Then we rode together a little ways down the street to the mall that was the start. We were able to park fairly close. Then we walked over to the start area and the port-o-potties. We hung out in the back and I got Nicki to take a pre-race picture(before I pulled my sweatband up apparently).

We looked around for friends, but were unable to locate most of them. After hanging out in the back for a short time, they played the National Anthem. There was a flag by the start. Before long, we were off. Incidentally, the bright light is the light in the parking lot. The sun was not up yet.

We went a little ways in the parking lot, then went right out of it and right again to the parallel road around the mall. This picture if from in the parking lot, but you can see the quicker runners already on the parallel road.

When we got the the mall entrance with a stop light, we turned left (away from the mall).

At a 4 way stop, we turned left. The military guys passed us at this point. They all had on heavy packs. We tried to keep them in our sites for the rest of the race.

We found Mile 1 along with a pretty sunrise.

We found the first water stop.

Soon we got to Mile 2.

These musicians were in front of the NAPA store.

Next came another water stop.

We found Mile 3.

I think this person was playing music for us.

Mile 4 still on the same road.

This water stop had some military signs in the median.

At Myrtle Beach High School, we found a couple of musicians.

For some reason, I was highly amused by these signs.

I had to get a picture of this fire department vehicle and the men helping with traffic on the course.

We’re still on the same road when we get to Mile 5.

We go slightly uphill here.

We finally left this road to veer right and then left onto a trail.

There was a water stop at the start of the trail.

The trail is more like my training run area.

Mile 6 was along the trail.

We are still parallel to that main road. When we emerge from the trees, we find a billboard and a performer under it.

We turn right at the stop light area.

Mile 7 is along this neighborhood (and narrow) road.

There were some people out cheering. We went straight through this stop sign.

They did have signs out telling us to keep right.

This water stop was a welcome sight.

We made our way around this curve (which I think was slightly uphill).

Then we found Ocean Blvd and turned right onto it.

Mile 8 was along the stretch before we got to the high rises that blocked the ocean view.

This road kind of ends at itself where you turn left.

Then came the high rises and traffic.

We did find a water stop.

There were people sitting on the steps of this beautiful oceanfront house watching us.

We reached Mile 9.

Nothing significant along the road before Mile 10. I think we spend a good part of the mile talking to the military guys.

We finally got to the main Myrtle Beach area.

There was a water stop.

People were trying to use the crosswalk with luggage at Mile 11.

This is when you realize you’re passing the finish area but you still have almost 2 miles left.

I believe this was the beer garden area.

There was a water stop just about across from the finish line that’s to the left (but not quite visible).

Mile 12 and we’re still heading away from the finish.

Finally we get to the left turn.

We run this nice, wide path towards the beach.

They had musicians at the left onto the boardwalk.

The worst part of the boardwalk was the serpentine pattern.

This was the entrance to the boardwalk we used the first time I ran this race when we did a lap around the mall first.

Finally we are on the wooden boardwalk with the finish line barely in sight.

This is a view of the finisher chute with the military guys coming through.

I got a medal selfie with the beach in the background.

Then we took our socks, calf sleeves, and shoes off and some pictures in our ocean ice bath.

Then we made our way to the line for a bus back to the start area.

One of the vehicles used was a trolley. We didn’t make that one but got a smaller bus with the next group.

Then we went back to our room to shower and change before driving back to Charlotte.

My official time was 3:16:22. I’ve been much faster at this, but wasn’t running for time. I do still love this race. I just wish it wasn’t during football season. I can’t commit until the schedule is out. I think it’s a great, mostly flat course. It doesn’t even have a lot of turns. The course support and musicians do help it. I will probably do this again, I’m just not sure when.

]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/03/02/myrtle-beach-mini-2017/feed/0kristincookeRace 13.1 – Charlotte 2017https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/race-13-1-charlotte-2017/
https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/race-13-1-charlotte-2017/#respondWed, 14 Feb 2018 02:27:45 +0000http://kristincooke.wordpress.com/?p=7209Continue reading →]]>This race was kind of a spur of the moment decision. It’s local on the greenway I train on and there was a discount on National Running Day. My husband was in a fishing tournament so I enlisted Nicki to come and watch the kids while I ran. She showed up right on time and I made the short trip to the race start area. The instructions said something about a parking deck. The line into the business park was long and slow. When I finally got in, I noticed people were using the surface lots. I kept straight when others were turning and found the parking deck. There were very few cars in it. Luckily I had my number already. Once I walked from the deck to the starting area, I only had about 5 minutes before the National Anthem. Then they lined up all the half marathon runners.

I found another member of my Princess Posse running group. After a brief chat, she took my pre-race picture at the back of the start area.

We only waited a few minutes before the race started. We headed through the start and went right on the main road of the office park.

We turned right onto Community House.

And then almost an immediate left onto Endhaven.

Endhaven is a nice, residential area with a school. Unfortunately, it also has several of those longer speed bumps. Mile 1 was along this road.

At the end of Endhaven (and down a hill) we turned left onto Elm.

Mile 2 was along Elm.

Just before we got to Bevington, we turned left (almost a U turn) to enter the Greenway.

At the entrance to the greenway was the first water stop.

The greenway was clearly marked so we knew to start to the right.

They also did a good job whenever there was a choice of directions.

Soon came Mile 3.

I must admit, I was used to running on the greenway for training and found this part of the course easy. There were a few spectators at the clearly marked entrance from Johnston road.

Soon came another water stop and return runners passing.

Incidentally, the office park that was he start and also the finish is not too far from the Johnston road entrance. That’s why I saw return runners already. Mile 4 was just before one of the boardwalk areas.

The other distance to this race that started after us was an 8k. I believe those were the runners that passed on the other side. Soon, we got to their turnaround point.

Next came a sponsored tent.

Followed closely by a water stop.

Just beyond the stop, we turned right to leave the greenway.

We found Mile 5 along this stretch.

We turned right when we came out into the neighborhood.

Then right on Robin Crest.

This is where my race started falling apart. This was one steep hill. I walked up it. I was tempted to stop all together for a break, but was afraid I wouldn’t start up again. So, I kept placing one foot in front of the other.

I was very grateful when we had a few downhill sections.

Finally we had another right turn.

Another small downhill

And then more killer uphills.

We reached Mile 6 as we turned left onto Tifton.

Finally we came to the left that led to the greenway again.

I did meet and stay with a very nice man who had badly burned his hand a few days prior. He was having to mostly walk with it up in the air. He encouraged me and helped take my mind off all the uphills.

I was loving the path that led to the greenway.

I knew there were’t any terrible hills on it. There was a DJ where we entered the greenway.

We had to run across this very narrow bridge.

Soon we were in another neighborhood.

I was so glad to see Mile 7.

We turned left.

The man in that picture is the one who ran with me for quite a while. We got to a turnaround in this neighborhood stretch.

We found Mile 8.

Next came a right onto Blue Heron.

Then another right

Finally we were entering the greenway again.

We turned right onto the main trail.

In this area we found Mile 9.

I was really digging deep at this point, but I knew the greenway and it felt like home. Soon came Mile 10.

Mile 11 was along a boardwalk stretch.

Eventually we passed the water stop and sponsored tent from earlier.

Then came Mile 12.

I should say at this point that I was in training for the Space Coast marathon. This was supposed to be a 12 mile training run day. So once I hit Mile 12, I felt like I had done what I needed. My motivation at this point was to get home since we were going to a Carolina Panthers home game. We got to a water stop just before going under Johnston road.

We veered left onto the sidewalk up to Johnston road.

At the end of the sidewalk, we turned left onto Johnston road.

It was a longer stretch than it seemed especially since you could see your destination the whole time. Finally, we got to Community House.

We turned left on Community House. Along this road we found Mile 13.

Then we turned right into Torringdon.

This is the same road we started the race. It curves around the office park. Then we turned left to find the finish.

I got my medal and grabbed a water. I also got my medal selfie.

Then I made my way to my car and had almost no issues trying to leave. My official time was 3:11:06. Considering all the walking I did in the neighborhoods, I was happy with that.

Aside from the traffic getting to the race, this was a well run race. I love running on the greenway I just wish the neighborhood part wasn’t so hilly. It really killed me this time since I wasn’t prepared for it. Since this race is essentially in my backyard, I would do it again.

]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/race-13-1-charlotte-2017/feed/0kristincookeThe Scream 2017https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/the-scream-2017/
https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/the-scream-2017/#commentsSat, 10 Feb 2018 02:07:19 +0000http://kristincooke.wordpress.com/?p=7208Continue reading →]]>I decided to stay in Lenoir this year since I thought it might be closer to the start. I booked a room at the Comfort Inn through Priceline.

I went straight to the hotel from work on Friday. When I arrived, they did not have my reservation. Then they found it was for the night before and had been cancelled as a no show. I had my paperwork and showed them. They were very nice but told them I had to go through Priceline. I called their customer service and worked with a very nice and helpful gentleman. While on the phone with him, he contacted the front desk and straightened everything out. Immediately after getting off the phone, they were able to check me in. I should add, the front desk staff was very nice about everything but since it was booked through Priceline they had to straighten out the miscommunication. Priceline was also very nice and helpful. The whole thing, although a tad anxiety-inducing, was a relatively small issue. Once I checked in, I went to my room to drop my things. The room was nice.

Also, unlike my previous stays in Morganton, the shower was a normal size and had a bath tub.

After getting all my things in the room, I headed across the street to Walmart to pick up some last minute items. Then I had dinner at the FATZ Cafe directly across the street from my hotel.

This has become a bit of a pre-race tradition. For dinner, I had their wonderful poppy seed buns,

grilled chicken, and stewed apples as a dessert/side. The food was good, as always.

Then I went back to my room and set out my outfit for the next day.

This is the nice thing about having 2 beds as a single person, the ability to lay out your outfit the night before. I promptly went to bed.

The next morning I woke up bright and early. I got ready and gathered all my things. I went down and checked out. There were several of us doing the same things so I assume we were all racers. They did have the breakfast area open. I was able to use my GPS to get to the parking area at Brown Mountain Beach resort. It was a lot quicker than coming from Morganton. I walked to the first bus and took a seat. We waited bit for the bus to fill up before leaving for the start. It is a long ride. We arrived at the general store where the bib pick up is located.

Luckily this year they moved the shirts to the post-run lunch area. So, I didn’t need to use the bag drop like I normally do.

I got someone to take a pre-race picture for me in this area. The bank of port-o-potties was just behind me. I believe I used them right before the picture.

After a while, they made an announcement to head towards the start area down the road.

I hung out at the back knowing I was among the slower runners.

Before long, we were starting.

I decided to stay with Diana this year so I had company on the run. I also knew I had missed the last 2 weeks of training and would be able to tell. Since this race is limited to 300 runners, it thins out pretty quick. We got to Mile 1 still on the main roads.

We had a few people cheering us on from the driveway.

The turn at the church was marked.

There was also a person there directing.

Mile 2 was in this stretch.

The first water stop was at the turn off to the ranger roads.

We soon found Mile 3.

Mile 4 was right before a very curvy turn in the road.

Then we found the water stop.

Mile 5 was on a slight uphill.

Mile 6 was in a curve.

Then came another water stop.

Mile 7 was in a rare straightaway.

Next came a water stop with some edibles. I can’t remember now what they had.

Mile 8 was downhill and I couldn’t slow myself to get a good picture.

Then started the dreaded uphill section.

Mile 9 was in the middle of the uphill and right before the steepest part.

At the end of the uphill was another water stop with goodies.

Mile 10 was downhill right before a curve.

Right before a curve, we reached Mile 11.

At this point, I knew I was way behind my previous year’s pace. I was about a mile behind where I was last year at this time.

I knew I wouldn’t beat 2:45 this time. Soon I came to the right turn off the ranger road (sorry its so blurry).

I made it to the water stop that I was elated at last year.

I finally got to the Mile 12 sign.

I was about at my previous finish time and I still had about a mile left.

The good thing was that I kept up my intervals almost the whole time. I’m pretty sure I told Diana to go ahead before this. I know she had a time in mind he wanted. Then I came to the one lane bridge.

The best thing about this race for me is the beautiful nature surrounding you.

\

I was able to keep my intervals through the rolling hills that killed me last year.

I ran by the people that had finished and were waiting for the bus. Then I could finally see the finish.

I crossed the line, got my medal, water, and a banana. Then I made my way back to the bus pick up area.

There were still people behind me. I cheered them all on from the waiting area. I got a medal selfie here, too.

Finally I got on the bus back to the parking area and lunch.

It is a long ride and tempting to fall alseep. I do give there bus drivers credit. I have no idea how they navigate the narrow, windy roads with a big bus. We made the rather long walk from the bus drop off to the lunch area. I grabbed some lunch and a Coke.

The lunch is pretty good and maybe more so since we’ve just finished a race. Oh, I also got my race shirt. Then I went out to the deck area to get this beautiful medal selfie.

Then I went back to my car, changed as discreetly as I could, and made my way home. Overall I really do like this race. I like running in nature and don’t have knee or ankle issues. I know that is why Nicki doesn’t like this race. I will gladly do it again but won’t miss that last 2 weeks or training anymore. It really did make a difference. I will be sitting out next year due to a family vacation that would be right before the race. I do plan to run it again in the future, though. Oh, my official time this year was 3:02:00. Of the 255 finishers, I was 245. I’m okay with that for now.

]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/the-scream-2017/feed/1kristincookeStar Wars Dark Side 2017 – Mondayhttps://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/07/07/star-wars-dark-side-2017-monday/
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I decided to find a bench by the water for a more relaxing, scenic view.

Once I finished my muffin, I decided to wander around Port Orleans French Quarter and get pictures.

They had this pictorial map of the waterway.

It was on the covered area by the entrance to the boat dock (on the right).

This is the view from the map area towards the section of French Quarter closer to Riverside.

Here are some various views of the pool area.

There is a laundry area next to the pool.

This sign was on the fence by the lobby. All these things are located in the same area. I should clarify that Spa in this case means hot tub.

This view is of the outside of the gift shop. It is actually located adjacent to the lobby area.

This is the parking lot closest to my room.

The outside of my building

Random pictures around the property

This is the running trail map. The purple section is French Quarter. The green is Riverside. This gives you an idea of how much smaller French Quarter is in comparison.

While I was there, the nightly campfires all around property were cancelled.

On the other side of this bridge, the Riverside area starts.

There were several of these little “squares” to sit and relax in around the property. Each had a different look and feel.

I also noticed each section of fencing seemed to be different.

The hitching posts really added to the look and feel.

I think this section is where they had the outdoor movies during the week.

Note on this sign that some of the weekly movies are over at Riverside.

There is a playground also by the pool and lobby area.

This is the main lobby entrance from the room side.

Before I left, I had to grab a large order of beniets to go with me.

Then I headed out front to wait for the Magical Express.

To the right of the lobby is the one and only bus stop area for French Quarter.

To the left is the baggage storage area and the airline check in desk. I was very glad I had checked in earlier since that line had grown considerably.

The lady working the front entrance was great and very personable. She kept up a conversation with me between her other duties.

All too soon, the bus arrived.

After the 30 minute ride, we arrived at the airport. We were greeted by this sign as we entered.

Here is a view of the long security lines at Orlando International airport.

I waited a few minutes and made a bathroom stop. Luckily, I have TSA-Precheck. By the time I came back, there were only a couple people in that line. Once through security, you have to take a People Mover to the terminal.

Only one side was open due to the construction.

I had plenty of time left before my flight since it was slightly delayed. So, I got some lunch and sat with a very nice lady and her daughter also heading home.

Once again I got a plane with newer seats.

The flight back was uneventful. Aside from getting home later, it wasn’t bad. It was delayed enough that I didn’t really have to deal with rush hour traffic. All-in-all, this was a good trip and I loved spending some quality time with my baby sister, Kassady.

]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/07/07/star-wars-dark-side-2017-monday/feed/0kristincookeStar Wars Dark Side 2017 – Sundayhttps://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/star-wars-dark-side-2017-sunday/
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I changed into my swimming suit and went out to the pool to cool off while I stretched out. Kassady was going to refill our mugs and join me poolside. I ended up getting out as she was heading to get the refills. So, I took my shower and dressed. I packed up all my medals from 2017 for pictures later. We made our way to Hollywood Studios via the bus. I knew I wanted to get medal pictures with the Star Wars characters. I briefly thought about heading to Magic Kingdom for my year of medals photo, but didn’t have the energy for a park hop. Once we entered Hollywood Studios, we caught the Storm Trooper march.

They went around the Crossroads building…

and then back up Hollywood Blvd to the stage.

We were too hungry to stay and watch the show. Instead, we continued on to my favorite quick service stop in the Studios, the Commissary.

The lines weren’t long and soon we were both seated with our chicken nuggets.

After finishing lunch, I wanted to get my medal pictures out of the way. So, we headed over to the Launch Bay area.

Even though this picture isn’t great, I loved the floor in the entrance.

Since it was the Dark Side race, we waited for Kylo Ren first. I put on all my medals from Light Side and Dark Side for these pictures.

Next we waited for Chewbacca. He tried to take my Light Side half medal since it’s just like the one he never got in the movie.

If there hadn’t been one on top of it, I might have given it to him for the picture. He looks a little sad with no medal.

New for this trip was BB-8. His line wasn’t too long, so we waited for him, too.

After we left the Launch Bay, I decided to get my year in medals picture done in front of the Chinese theater. There was no one in line when I got there. By the time I finished putting on all my medals and arranging them, there were a few people. I first got one without taking my sunglasses off.

When I realized I had my sunglasses on, I got the very helpful next person in line to remove them for me.

Once I got home, I added a couple things to my favorite shot.

Then it was time for our Star Tours FastPass.

Sometimes Star Tours hits me hard since there is no air movement with the motion. This time, it didn’t affect me as bad. We had some time, so we decided to go on the Great Movie Ride.

Afterwards, we made our way to Toy Story Midway Mania for our next FastPass.

The Green Army men were out.

I got a blurry selfie before the ride started.

Of coarse, I had to get a picture of our scores.

We wandered around and decided to duck into the Muppet 3D Movie. There is never any line here, you just have to wait for the next movie. Miss Piggy was at the entrance.

After exiting, we saw the Muppet store.

We also found Kermit by the strollers.

I got a few pictures of what the construction area looks like from the walls.

The we made our way to our last FastPass at the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster.

Here’s our ride picture. I did tuck my medal in my shirt so it didn’t come off or hit me.

Then, it was dinnertime!

I had booked Hollywood & Vine hoping they would have a Star Wars theme during this time. They didn’t. So, we had …

On the back of the card were all the signatures.

Almost as soon as our waitress left, we met Minnie Mouse.

Shortly after that we saw Donald Duck.

Then we had a chance to grab some food. I like the Lobster Mac & Cheese.

Followed by a plate of seconds and desserts.

Then we met Mickey Mouse.

Our waitress was so good, we had to get her picture.

Finally we met Goofy.

On our way out, we turned in our photo card for our picture with Daisy.

We went back over to Launch Bay theater since there was almost no wait.

This is a movie theater where they show clips from all the Star Wars movies.

If I remember correctly, we decided not to stay for the show. The theater exits into the Launch Bay area.

Instead we decided to go to One Man’s Dream.

If you’ve never been, it’s a museum of different Disneyana followed by a theater show. I found a poster of my favorite Disney movie.

I could have spent much more time looking around at everything. This is a terrible picture, but the movie at the end was the preview of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Since it was our last night (and no early morning wake up the next day), we stayed for Fantasmic.

We were seated at the top of the Maleficent section since I wanted to make a quick exit to see the Star Wars fireworks.

This was our view.

We did make it out just after the fireworks started. We were able to grab a spot on Hollywood Blvd right next to Sunset. They really need to time this better so you can catch both Fantasmic and the fireworks. To be honest, the Star Wars fireworks weren’t as good as I remembered from before all the projections. I liked the old show better. It might just be that I like the fireworks better than projections and others have a different opinion.

After the fireworks, we got on our bus back to the hotel. Kassady had forgotten her ID in the room, so we were unable to get cocktails in the park. So, we went to the room and got her ID and then went up front to the bar for a celebratory cocktail. We both chose drinks with light up cubes.

Towards the end of our time in the lounge, these guys started playing. They were good.

After the drinks, Kassady went home since she had class the next day. I went back to the room and dropped into bed.

Save

]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/star-wars-dark-side-2017-sunday/feed/0kristincookeStar Wars Dark Side 2017 – Halfhttps://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/star-wars-dark-side-2017-half/
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Here’s the official photo

I still had time, so I jumped into the Jabba the Hut line as well.

The official photo

By this time, all the lines were super long. So I decided to wander around a bit. I found the long line of Port-o-potties in the staging area (not by the corral entrances).

This was a look at the staging area (beyond the character photos and stage area).

This was the start line.

Soon it was time for the mass migration to the corrals.

Once again they had a huge area with water at the corral entrances.

I was in Corral E for the half. After using the port-o-potties by the water table, I made my way to the entrance.

Since I was there when they opened the corrals, I was right at the front. It was still quite a while before race start so a lot of people were sitting and saving their legs.

This is a look back towards the staging area and the 2 huge corrals next to me. My corral was the last smaller corral. I use that term loosely since my corral had 2000.

To get an idea of how massive the corrals were, this was the view of my corral entrance from where I was.

Eventually, the storm troopers came to the stage by the start line and gave us another talk. Then the National Anthem was sung. Finally, the race officially started.

Like the 10k, they did waves inside of the corrals. That is why the corrals were so massive. I was in the first wave of corral E. Slowly we made our way towards the start line. I did get a good view of the fireworks for the start of the corral D groups.

Finally, it was our turn at the start line.

Rudy gave us his usual great send off.

Then we were off. The course started running by the staging area.

As usual, my pictures at the start of the race are terrible. We veered right towards the entrance to the parking lot.

There was a marching band in this area. They were playing Star Wars music.

R2D2 was doing character photos.

Up to this point, the course was the same as the 10k. When we got to the parking entrance, that changed. We went to the right before we got to the parking entrance.

We made what amounted to a sweeping almost U-turn.

We ran parallel to the start line and could see the fireworks from the groups just starting.

I was trying to keep tracks of how many groups were behind me. I eventually got too far away to hear them even though I knew there were still groups starting.

We ran by a gas station.

Just after the gas station, we reached Mile 1.

The route turned left onto a side road.

This road was pretty dark. They did have the speeder bikes from Endor in this area.

Eventually we found a medical tent. I wonder how many scrapes they had to patch up from the dark road.

Soon we found the first water stop. This area was well lit.

There were not so well lit port-o-potties following the water.

They did take advantage of the dark stretch to use lasers and sound effects to make you feel like you were in a battle.

Mile 2 was just after the battle area.

They did a good job of lighting this bridge we had to cross.

Next came an Ewok picture stop.

Official photo

Next we came to the place I heard a lot of people complain about during marathon weekend, the water treatment plant. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad.

In that same area we passed the turn for the compost facility.

Soon we found Mile 3.

Next came more of the plant facilities.

In this area, we passed the 5k mark.

Towards the end of the buildings we found the next water stop.

There were port-o-potties with this stop.

We ran through some gates with a security person. I assume these keep guests from getting to the facilities area.

Just after the intersection was a medical tent.

Followed closely by a screen playing Star Wars clips.

A little further down the road we came across the greenhouses.

Then I found the trash compactor scene and had to stop.

Official photo

If you couldn’t tell by my face in the last picture, I was really feeling the heat and humidity at this point. Then we entered the backstage areas of Animal Kingdom. We found Mile 4 in this area.

We had to cross some railroad tracks.

Beside the track we found the homes of a couple animals.

Very soon after that, we found some port-o-potties

and a water stop.

One interesting sign I saw in the backstage area of Asia.

Some people were waiting for bathrooms in the back of this building.

We kept left at this split.

The entertainment building was on the route.

There was another port-o-potty line just before leaving the backstage area.

These open gates led us into Animal Kingdom.

The first real bathrooms had a line.

We stayed left towards Dinoland.

I stopped at the cast member taking pictures for us with Everest in the background.

Another line for more real bathrooms.

We ran in front of Everest.

Some storm troopers were out by the Finding Nemo theater.

Then we entered Dinoland.

If I remember correctly, I stopped at these bathrooms since they had a shorter line.

We went backstage on the other side of that building. Mile 5 was in this backstage area.

We found the first group of cosplayers in this area, too.

After the cosplayers, there were a few port-o-potties.

There was also a water stop.

We ran around the pond. It’s always amazing when you can see the runner in front of you and realize just how many people there are.

A medical tent was at the other side of the pond.

We came out in the parking lot and ran around to the front entrance.

There were a few spectators here.

Security was ready for the guests arriving early (the man pushing the stroller on the right).

We ran by the front entrance and around the rest of the parking lot. Spectators with great signs were in the parking lot.

There was a screen playing clips in the parking lot.

They had the Hoth scene here, but the line was too long for me to stop.

Mile 6 was over halfway through the parking lot.

If you couldn’t tell, the parking lot is a large chuck of the race. I must say it didn’t feel as bad this year with the distractions and going the opposite direction. The 10k point was on the road to the parking lot.

There was a bank of port-o-potties beside the bridge.

A water stop was just on the other side of the bridge.

I did stop to get my picture in the emperor’s chair. I will give a huge shout out and thank you to the cast member working this line. He had a towel and wiped the chair down between people. We were all sweaty at this point.

Once we were out of the parking lot, we only had half the road. They needed the other half for people leaving the Animal Kingdom Lodge area.

Mile 7 was on a bridge.

There was another screen playing clips on the second bridge.

The McDonald’s beside this bridge smelled heavenly.

There was a medical tent on the other side of the McDonald’s bridge.

Further down the road was a DJ in a neon-lit car.

We finally left the road on this ramp.

Mile 8 was on the ramp.

We did a U-turn onto the next road.

The Clif Shots were here.

along with some port-o-potties

and a water stop.

I was actually running with Julie and her husband at this point. We could see the entrance to Hollywood Studios.

The Star Wars Rebels were taking pictures here.

Mile 9 was along this road, too.

There were so many cones we weren’t sure if we had one lane or 2.

Then we did a U-turn onto an exit ramp.

The 15k mark was on this long, sweeping ramp.

There was a medical tent at the top of the ramp.

Here’s a pretty good look back at the runners behind me from the bridge.

From the bridge we went downhill.

We turned right at this light to the backstage of Hollywood Studios.

Once again Darth Maul’s line was super long. So, I just took a selfie.

I think there was a water stop in this area.

Mile 10 was after the left turn.

Then we had to go up this ramp (you’ll notice just about everyone is walking).

You enter into the Fastasmic area. There must not have been any cosplayers here this time because my next picture is of the real bathrooms.

Then we ran down and out by the Tower of Terror.

We ran down Sunset Blvd with some cast members cheering and giving out high fives.

They got a good shot of me running in this area.

At the road end, we turned left onto Hollywood Blvd.

This part of the course is the same as the 10k. I must have put my sunglasses on at the turn because they got this nice shot of me running on Hollywood Blvd.

At the crossroads, we turned left and ran between the photographers. All the people you see to the right were guests already in the park.

These cast members were giving out high fours.

I once again stopped at these real bathrooms.

We continued around behind the buildings.

There were a couple storm troopers posing for pictures here.

We continued around through this break in the wall.

It led to the front entrance.

We ran through one section of the security area.

They got a good shot of me running on the other side.

Some park guests made signs and cheered us on.

We ran beside the parking lot and onto the trail again.

The trail wasn’t quite as crowded today, but that might be due to where I was in the corrals.

They had the lights and sounds under the bridge.

A water stop was just on the other side of the bridge.

Mile 11 was towards the end of the path in the Boardwalk vicinity.

There was a medical tent at the end of the path.

We turned right on the other side of the medical tent. This is where the course differed from the 10k. We ran through the Boardwalk area this time.

There were spectators at the right turn in the Boardwalk.

Photographers were set up on the Boardwalk.

Many people were enjoying breakfast.

More photographers were set up by ESPN.

They must have been the ones to get this shot of me with the margarita stand in the background.

We found some more cosplayers before getting to EPCOT.

I stopped for one selfie.

I took some more as I ran by.

The course went slightly uphill towards the International Gateway.

The downhill was on the other side of the bridge.

Just before the International Gateway, we turned left.

Chewbacca was in this area.

We entered the backstage area next to Chewbacca.

Another water stop was in this backstage area.

We exited the backstage area in the United Kingdom section.

We turned right to run through the United Kingdom. This was the opposite of the 10k route.

The Canada cast members stood along the turn with their flag cheering us on.

There is an uphill section once leaving the United Kingdom.

The course goes back downhill into France.

I believe this picture was taken in the France section.

Mile 12 was in the Morocco area.

More PhotoPass photographers were in the area by Japan.

Cast members in Italy were also cheering us on holding thier flag.

I loved this view and the topiaries in Germany.

The trains were running in Germany.

I think there were bathroom in this area.

I believe this picture was taken in the Germany area.

We finally got to the 20k mark.

There were a host of people cheering us on in Norway. This is also the first place we encountered guests since Norway is open for a character breakfast.

We ran by Mexico.

Then turned right towards Spaceship Earth.

They were taking official photos with “the ball”.

There was a cast member outside Mouse Gear blowing bubbles and another being a great cheer section.

There was a guest crosswalk area on the other side of the fountain.

We ran to the right of Spaceship Earth and went backstage at the usual spot at its base.

They had some cosplayers in this area again. I stopped this time for a picture with a Wookie. I have to be honest, I don’t know how they stood the heat that long.

I got a selfie with these interesting characters.

We turned left to head out towards the parking lot.

This security guy was attmepting in his own way to encourage us to the end.

Mile 13 was just before we got to the main parking lot area.

There were stands in the turn and the normal photographers by the small split.

They got this nice picture of me with Spaceship Earth in the background.

Finally we got to the finish line flanked by Storm Troopers.

I got a good finish line picture this time.

I took a post-finish selfie.

Here’s a look at the finisher’s chute from the finish line area.

I got a good shot to show the enormity of the medical tent.

We got cooling towels along this part of the chute. After you turn left at the end of the first part of the chute, there are tables with water and Powerade.

After those tables, I veered to the right towards the challenge tent.

Inside, they checked me against my picture in the system with my bib number. I got my challenge medal and then my Kessel Run medal. I had my 10k medal in my pocket. I put that one on too since the picture spot was next. Here is my official medal picture.

After the picture was the snack boxes and bananas. Since my sister was waiting back in the room, I headed straight for the bus. I did manage to get a decent selfie with all 4 medals.

After it was available online, I downloaded my race certificate.

Overall, I really liked the change in the course. The cosplayers seemed to be in good areas this year with minimal clogging. The path between the Studios and the Boardwalk will always be a clog due to the narrow width. I think having it towards the end of the race did help a little. The stretch on the roads didn’t seem as long and boring this time. That might be from only having to do the road to/from Animal Kingdom once. I hope they keep the changes for next year. I will be back again.

]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/star-wars-dark-side-2017-half/feed/0kristincookeStar Wars Dark Side 2017 – Saturdayhttps://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/06/11/star-wars-dark-side-2017-saturday/
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The boat was already being loaded when we got there. The captain let us join the passengers.

The ride to Disney Springs is very laid back. Soon we spotted the Boathouse.

I think this was my first time seeing Paddlefish without any construction.

As we were getting off the boat, we spotted some of the local wildlife.

We walked away from the boat and entered Disney Springs.

Kassady wanted to stop at one of the newest stores, The Dress Shop.

They have a lot of great stuff for Disney Bounding and Dapper Days.

We then wandered through the Disney shops which are full of Star Wars

… and Guardians of the Galaxy.

I finally went in to Amorette’s.

Everything looked amazing!

I loved being able to watch them making things.

I did not get anything even though I was tempted. Next I saw the Poutine shop. I got a picture of the menu since it wasn’t open yet.

Kassady wanted to stop in Uniqlo.

It does have some Disney themed things for a good price. It also has non-Disney items.

By this time, Kassady and I were both really hungry. We decided to visit Earl of Sandwich and use a Quick Service credit.

Kassady and I both opted for desserts instead of sides.

I ordered the Chicken, Bacon, Avacado wrap.

It was very good but I ended up not being able to eat all of it. The Chocolate Brownie Crème sandwich was pretty good as well.

I had to get a picture of my shirt for Shelly who made it.

Part of the reason we came to Disney Springs was to go to the Origins Event. I had been invited to attend as part of the Influenster program. I had received samples of some of their new products to try ahead of time. The products I did try I loved. Here are a few pictures of the event and the things going on.

Since Kassady had been a trooper waiting for me to attend the event, we went back to Starbucks and got the limited time drink to try.

It was okay, but not something I’d get again. Once we had our drink, we made our way to the buses. We decided to take the Contemporary bus and walk over to Magic Kingdom. We had to wait quite a while for the bus. However, it was the closest we could get to the Magic Kingdom. Once there, we found the walkway.

We encountered our first new security point on this walk. I will admit it was nice to have so few people going through the security. This was a look back after we had been screened.

The other security point was moved to right after the boat and bus exits. It made the lines to get in to the park much nicer. The railroad was running as we entered into the park.

Since the lines were so long, we decided to ride the Carousel of Progress.

We also had Fast Passes for Space Mountain

… and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We ended up in the very last seats in the Mine Train.

We also stopped to get our castle medal pictures.

They thought Kassady was my daughter and not my sister. So, they wanted this shot which turned out pretty good.

These two were my favorites.

We caught a band coming down the parade route when we were trying to cut over to Frontierland.

Another band was coming behind them so we cut through Adventureland.

Eventually we made it to Thunder Mountain. Luckily, we had FastPasses so we got to skip this long line.

Since we knew there would be no PhotoPass pictures from this one, we got a selfie on the ride before it started.

In case you were wondering, here was the stand by wait when we exited.

We had some time (and snack credits) so we made our way to Aloha Isle and got Dole Whips.

I prefer the regular soft serve to the float with pineapple juice. We then took our treats into the Tiki Room to enjoy.

I love having that option and I’ve never found a wait for the Tiki Room. Then it was time for our early dinner reservation at Skipper Canteen. I was excited since I hadn’t tried this place yet.

We waited inside in a nice little alcove area. I didn’t get a picture of it, though. Before long, we were being led to our table.

We were seated in one of the side rooms. I think it was the SEA room. The table setting was in a unique position.

We were handed a menu.

This was the view from our table.

They brought bread with honey to the table.

I got the Tastes Like Chicken

Kassady got the Noddle Bowl.

We were both happy with our choice. When we were done with our meal, they brought the dessert menu.

I got the Kungaloosh

Kassady got the Quick Sand

I love the nod to the old Adventurer’s Club from Pleasure Island. Our server did a great job with the corny jokes.

As we were leaving, I made a point to see the bookcase and the trigger to opening the secret door to our room.

At this point, we were ready to head back. However, when we got to the hub, the Move It, Shake It dance party was in progress.

So we stopped to enjoy that.

We grabbed a quick medal selfie beside the castle.

Then decided to head out.

I did get a nearly empty picture of the ground in front of the entrance on the way out.

We caught the bus back to French Quarter. Then I set out all my stuff for the half in the morning. My intent was not to wake Kassady when getting ready. I also made sure my bib was already fastened. Once that was complete, I got in bed and tried to sleep.

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]]>https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/06/11/star-wars-dark-side-2017-saturday/feed/0kristincookeStar Wars Dark Side 2017 – 10khttps://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/06/10/star-wars-dark-side-2017-10k/
https://kristincooke.wordpress.com/2017/06/10/star-wars-dark-side-2017-10k/#respondSun, 11 Jun 2017 03:00:06 +0000http://kristincooke.wordpress.com/?p=6419Continue reading →]]>The first bus was leaving at 3:30 am. So, our alarms went off at 2:45 am. We got up and got everything ready. I had Kassady take my pre-race picture in the room so there was good lighting.

When we got out in front of the lobby, there was a whole mass of people waiting for the first bus. There didn’t seem to be a line, just a big grouping. So, this was the scene as people were generally good about merging on the bus.

Kassady and I had to get our pre-race bus selfie.

For the first time, the race started in the Magic Kingdom parking lot. The buses dropped us off in one section and we walked over to the staging area.

There were many pre-race picture areas including BB8.

They were on either side of the stage.

I let Kassady choose our character photo. She chose Captain Phasma.

We then hung out by the stage.

After watching some trivia games, we decided to head over towards the corrals. Here is a look at the large staging area.

I got a picture of the start line.

Then we funneled through the checkpoint to the corrals.

They had long water tables set up by the port-o-potties.

I was in Corral D and Kassady was in Corral C. She decided to drop back to D with me and run together. So after using the port-o-potties we made our way to the entrance of Corral D.

This was our view of the start line before everyone stood and moved forward.

Before long, the wheelchairs and then Corral A made their way to the start line. The National Anthem was sung after a short talk from some Storm Troopers. The official race start came with fireworks.

Every corral had at least one wave inside it. I really like the wave process. Soon, we made our way to the start line.

We were in the first wave of Corral D. I caught a brief glimpse of our starting fireworks.

Really these pictures don’t do them justice. There were high fireworks in the sky as well as the ones coming from the start line. The race started with us running by the staging area and then the bus drop off area. There was a separation between the course and those areas, though.

We turned right and headed towards the Magic Kingdom parking entrance. There was a band in this stretch.

The first character stop was also in this stretch. The line was long and I didn’t want to make the same mistake I had made with Kassady’s first 10k at Princess and be running from the balloon ladies the whole race. So, we did a drive by photo of R2D2. I was lucky enough to catch him between people in the long line.

We ran through the parking entrance (and over the speed bumps).

At the first paved section, we cut across to the other side of the road.

We found Darth Maul on Mile 1.

A little ways down the road, there was a large screen playing Star Wars clips.

We found the first water stop just before the EPCOT exit.

Our first character picture stop was for the Star Wars Rebels.

Official photo

Further down the road we found Mile 2.

The next distraction was another large screen playing Star Wars clips.

Next came this DJ whose music helped.

We finally got to the long, winding exit ramp. This must be a major sweep point since they had so many parade buses waiting.

Along the exit ramp we found the Emperor’s chair. Once again we weren’t willing to wait in the long line and I was able to get a picture between people.

Mile 3 was along the winding ramp.

About this time I was really feeling the heat and humidity. We did reach the 5k point.

There was a medical tent towards the end of the ramp. I found out after we passed that they were handing out electrolytes. I should have taken some. I thought there would be Powerade at the next water stop. I forgot that they only have water on the 10k runs.

The sun was coming up as we made our way over the bridge.

It was a slight downhill on the other side of the bridge.

We turned right at the light.

Dark Maul was taking pictures right before the backstage entrance to the Studios. Kassady didn’t want to stop for this one.

There was a water stop in the backstage area.

This is where I realized I should have taken the electrolytes from medical earlier. There was an uphill section right after the water stop.

We entered into the Fantasmic area and found the Cosplayers.

Kassady loved this cosplayer.

This was a great area since it was a wide open space and still allowed for runners to pass with people stopping for pictures.

We had to get one selfie here.

We didn’t want to wait in the longer lines, but I did get pictures along the way.

We ran slightly downhill through the exit to Fastasmic and into the park.

We came out by Tower of Terror and a cast member was giving high fives.

We turned left and ran down Sunset Blvd.

There were a couple groups of Stormtroopers along the street for photos.

There were several cast members at the left turn on Hollywood Blvd. Most had light sabers.

I just realized my friend Julie and her husband were having their picture taken by a cast member in my picture. Mile 4 was along the short stretch of Hollywood Blvd.

There was a photographer that got a good shot of us on this stretch.

We turned left before the Crossroads. I think I used the real bathrooms right here. Then we continued to the backstage area.

We turned right to go around the buildings and back out to the entrance.

These security ladies were awesome cheerleaders.

I had to get a picture of this sign.

The sun rise was pretty as we ran towards the parking lot.

We turned to the left and continued on the walkway to Boardwalk.

The walkway was quite crowded and I did run on the grass during parts.

We did stop for this picture along the walkway.

Official photo

There were nice Star Wars themed lights and music in this tunnel-like area.

We got to another water stop on the other side.

We did see people splitting to the top walkway in this section so they could run.

There was a medical tent towards the end of the split walkway.

We then veered to the left (then right) towards the Yacht and Beach Club resorts.

Mile 5 was along this boardwalk section.

I found Cindy and Meredith spectating and being awesome cheerleaders in this area.

The view is beautiful across the beach towards the Boardwalk resort.

The path continued up hill on the bridge towards the International Gateway.

We turned left after descending the bridge. Chewbacca was greeting runners before we went backstage.

This path led into the backstage area.

We left the backstage area in the United Kingdom.

In the United Kingdom, we turned left and headed towards Future World.

There was a photographer by Canada that got a good shot with both of us.

The course turned left at the entrance to World Showcase. We ran towards Spaceship Earth.

We followed the normal route to the right at the base of Spaceship Earth.

Mile 6 was in the backstage area.

Then there were a few more cosplayers.

This employee was very encouraging as we turned left towards the parking lot.

Unlike Princess, there were no spectators as we emerged in the parking lot.

We did pass multiple photographers on our way to the finish line.

One of them got a great picture of Spaceship Earth.

Another one caught me right after I had taken a picture.

This was a view of the finish line from the other side and all the photographers getting those finish line shots.

With all those photographers, this is the only finish line shot we got.

I actually got a selfie with Kassady and the finish line in the background.

The next stop was getting a medal placed around our neck.

There was a medical area behind that. Then we turned left and picked up water and Powerade. Next came the decision of getting a finisher photo or not. For me, the answer is always get one.

This year, they had paddles you could hold with the logos instead of trying to put them on after the fact.

After the photo, we picked up a snack box and banana. Here’s a picture of the snack box content taken after I was back in the room.

Kassady decided she didn’t want to hang around the finisher area any longer. So, we hopped on the bus back to the resort. We got a rather blurry medal seflie on the bus.

Overall, I really liked the change in course. The cosplayers were at good locations and didn’t really hurt the flow. With the heat, I would have liked to see one stop on the course with Powerade. I’ll just remember for next time to get electrolytes from medical. I will be back again next year.